“I don’t know Anne, something about this school just feels *off*.” Their shiny black dress shoes clacked loudly down the cold, empty hallways. “Like what?” Her friend pushed. “Besides the fact that it’s comprised of only the snobbiest, richest kids in the world that paid their way in, you have to admit it’s a pretty great school. Every kid in the *world* wants to go here. We should appreciate it.” “But didn’t you see the headmaster on opening night? He was arguing with Mr. Garr and then they just disappeared!” Ivy and Anne turned a corner, the large, grand oak doors of the library coming into view. “It feels like this school is just covering up for one big, gigantic *secret* they don’t want anyone to know about.” “It’s a brand new school, Ivy. What kind of ‘big secret’ could it possibly have?” “Oh, I don’t know.” Ivy glanced away, one of her checkered nails rubbing harsh circles into her crossed arms. “Maybe I *am* crazy. I just feel like there’s something going on here.” “I mean, don’t get me wrong, I’ve noticed some pretty weird stuff here, too. But it’s better to just not get involved. We’re only here to get high GPA’s and make it into Yale, after all. Why bother getting caught up in some crazy conspiracy theories?” “Yeah yeah, you’re right. But if we can’t find that book I saw in his room, we can at least get some sunset studying in.” She placed a hand on the library doors, letting out a light grunt as she pushed the heavy wood forward. “Heh, I don’t know why they made these so heavy-” The girls froze as the doors fell open, two other pairs of eyes staring back at them. Clara and Tyler immediately jumped apart, faces burning cardinal red and the sunset light spilling out from the giant window behind them only highlighting their embarrassment. Clara looked down, dark hair spilling over her face and blue eyes suddenly finding her shoes terribly interesting. Tyler, on the other hand, gave an awkward smile, waving to the two girls. “H-Hey..” “The Winter Gala isn’t for another three months.” Ivy pointed out, breezing into the room. “What, are you starting to practice your waltzing skills already?” “We-We were just having a little fun.” Tyler grumbled, crossing his arms and glaring at her. “What harm has dancing ever done?” Now Anne spoke up. “My father used to read me a fairy tale where the witch was put in shoes that made her dance without stop until she died.” Tyler’s face paled. “And we have work to do.” Ivy smirked and Anne snickered behind her, the girl’s red lips tilting up as they strutted by. “You aren’t supposed to be here. It’s after seven.” Tyler pointed out, voice testing. “Well neither are you.” Anne countered, running a sharp red nail over a row of book spines, dark eyes darting across boring titles. She stopped on a book labeled “Pre-Calculus: Easily Explained” and began flipping through a few pages. “What are you doing here?” “We’re studying.” Ivy rolled her eyes, sitting down with a book about Greek roots and origins and laying it out on a table already littered with other literature. Anne sat down beside her not moments later. “If someone catches you here you’re going to get in trouble.” Tyler’s voice was slowly getting more frustrated and less patient. “Yeah and you act like you wouldn’t.” She turned her head, flipping her hair over one shoulder and glaring challengingly into his eyes. Just then, a sound echoed through the library, bouncing off of shelves and whispering through pages. The students shot to their feet, eyes going wide with fear. They hadn’t thought that someone might *actually* find them.
“Hide!” Anne hissed, the four rushing behind a large bookshelf. The sound of stone scraping against stone sounded for a few moments longer before pausing, and once again resuming. Ivy’s heart caught in her chest as she saw Clara slowly creeping to the edge of the shelf, her dark eyes narrowed and shoulders tense as she peeked around their hiding spot at whatever was making the noise. “What are you *doing*!?” Ivy hissed, harshly grabbing her arm and pulling her back. Then, footsteps echoed through the large room and they stumbled back, falling over themselves to get out of sight of whoever was heading towards the door to escape the beautifully crafted library. The giant doors creaked open, fell closed, and then there was silence. “Dude.” Anne let out a shaky breath, hand shakily falling from where it had been clutching Ivy’s arm. Steadying her breath, her lips slowly curled upwards and she began to laugh, adrenaline clearly still rushing through her veins. “Who *was* that?” Ivy eventually joined in the laughter, heart still racing from the scare as, out of the corner of her eye, she saw Clara creeping out from behind the bookshelf. Growling to herself, she crossed her arms and turned to look at the small girl, who was approaching one of the stone walls on the edge of the library. “Clara.” She snapped. “What are you doing? I never knew you were into architecture.” But, Clara didn’t respond and, grumbling to herself, Ivy and the others followed, brows furrowed in confusion as they watched her run a pale hand over the smooth, creamy walls. “There-There was a door here..” She murmured. “I saw Mr. Garr come out of a door in the wall. It was right here.” Ivy’s movements stilled, her senses suddenly sharpening. A door? But, to where? Did it have something to do with whatever secrets this school was keeping? Could it hold the answers she had been searching for? She pushed her way forward, gliding both neatly-manicured hands on the wall and running them over grooves and ridges. Nothing. “Just-Just push it in.” Now, it was Tyler’s turn to come to the front, sizing up the wall. “I mean, I-Maybe it’ll work.” He glanced back at the girls with a tinted face before placing both hands on the wall and pushing. He let out a light grunt as, before their eyes, cracks formed in the wall in front of them that hadn’t been there before. And then, a blast of cold, musty air blew into their faces as they stared, slack jawed into darkness.
